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direct - 11 dictionary results
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di⋅rect

  [di-rekt, dahy-]
Use direct in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to manage or guide by advice, helpful information, instruction, etc.: He directed the company through a difficult time.
2. to regulate the course of; control: History is directed by a small number of great men and women.
3. to administer; manage; supervise: She directs the affairs of the estate.
4. to give authoritative instructions to; command; order or ordain: I directed him to leave the room.
5. to serve as a director in the production or performance of (a musical work, play, motion picture, etc.).
6. to guide, tell, or show (a person) the way to a place: I directed him to the post office.
7. to point, aim, or send toward a place or object: to direct radio waves around the globe.
8. to channel or focus toward a given result, object, or end (often fol. by to or toward): She directed all her energies toward the accomplishment of the work.
9. to address (words, a speech, a written report, etc.) to a person or persons: The secretary directed his remarks to two of the committee members.
10. to address (a letter, package, etc.) to an intended recipient.
–verb (used without object)
11. to act as a guide.
12. to give commands or orders.
13. to serve as the director of a play, film, orchestra, etc.
–adjective
14. proceeding in a straight line or by the shortest course; straight; undeviating; not oblique: a direct route.
15. proceeding in an unbroken line of descent; lineal rather than collateral: a direct descendant.
16. Mathematics.
a. (of a proportion) containing terms of which an increase (or decrease) in one results in an increase (or decrease) in another: a term is said to be in direct proportion to another term if one increases (or decreases) as the other increases (or decreases).
b. (of a function) the function itself, in contrast to its inverse. Compare inverse (def. 2).
17. without intervening persons, influences, factors, etc.; immediate; personal: direct contact with the voters; direct exposure to a disease.
18. straightforward; frank; candid: the direct remarks of a forthright individual.
19. absolute; exact: the direct opposite.
20. consisting exactly of the words originally used; verbatim: direct quotation.
21. Government. of or by action of voters, which takes effect without any intervening agency such as representatives.
22. inevitable; consequential: War will be a direct result of such political action.
23. allocated for or arising from a particular known agency, process, job, etc.: The new machine was listed by the accountant as a direct cost.
24. Electricity. of or pertaining to direct current.
25. Astronomy.
a. moving in an orbit in the same direction as the earth in its revolution around the sun.
b. appearing to move on the celestial sphere in the direction of the natural order of the signs of the zodiac, from west to east. Compare retrograde (def. 4).
26. Surveying. (of a telescope) in its normal position; not inverted or transited.
27. (of dye colors) working without the use of a mordant; substantive.
–adverb
28. in a direct manner; directly; straight: Answer me direct.
Origin:
1325–75; ME direct (adj., adv.), directen (v.) (< AF) < L dīrēctus, dērēctus (the latter prob. the orig. form, later reanalyzed as dī- di- 2 ), ptp. of dērigere to align, straighten, guide (dē- de- + -rigere, comb. form of regere to guide, rule)

Related forms:
di⋅rect⋅a⋅ble, adjective
di⋅rect⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. See guide. 4. Direct, order, command mean to issue instructions. Direct suggests also giving explanations or advice; the emphasis is not on the authority of the director, but on steps necessary for the accomplishing of a purpose. Order connotes a personal relationship in which one in a superior position imperatively instructs a subordinate to do something. Command, less personal and, often, less specific in detail, suggests greater formality and, sometimes, a more fixed authority on the part of the superior. 18. open, sincere, outspoken.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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di·rect   (dĭ-rěkt', dī-)   
v.   di·rect·ed, di·rect·ing, di·rects

v.   tr.
  1. To manage or conduct the affairs of; regulate.
  2. To have or take charge of; control. See Synonyms at conduct.
  3. To give authoritative instructions to: directed the student to answer.
  4. To cause to move toward a goal; aim. See Synonyms at aim.
  5. To show or indicate the way for: directed us to the airport.
  6. To cause to move in or follow a straight course: directed their fire at the target.
  7. To indicate the intended recipient on (a letter, for example).
  8. To address or adapt (remarks, for example) to a specific person, audience, or purpose.
    1. To give guidance and instruction to (actors or musicians, for example) in the rehearsal and performance of a work.
    2. To supervise the performance of.
v.   intr.
  1. To give commands or directions.
  2. To conduct a performance or rehearsal.
adj.  
  1. Proceeding without interruption in a straight course or line; not deviating or swerving: a direct route.
  2. Straightforward and candid; frank: a direct response.
  3. Having no intervening persons, conditions, or agencies; immediate: direct contact; direct sunlight.
  4. Effected by action of the voters, rather than through elected representatives or delegates: direct elections.
  5. Being of unbroken descent; lineal: a direct descendant of the monarch.
  6. Consisting of the exact words of the writer or speaker: a direct quotation; direct speech.
  7. Lacking compromising or mitigating elements; absolute: direct opposites.
  8. Mathematics Varying in the same manner as another quantity, especially increasing if another quantity increases or decreasing if it decreases.
  9. Astronomy Designating west-to-east motion of a planet in the same direction as the sun's movement against the stars.
  10. Sports Being a free kick in soccer by which a goal can be scored without the ball being touched by a second player.
adv.  Straight; directly.

[Middle English directen, from Latin dīrigere, dīrēct-, to give direction to : dī-, dis-, apart; see dis- + regere, to guide; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Direct

Di*rect"\, a. [L. directus, p. p. of dirigere to direct: cf. F. direct. See Dress, and cf. Dirge.]

1. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end; as, a direct line; direct means.

What is direct to, what slides by, the question. --Locke.

2. Straightforward; not of crooked ways, or swerving from truth and openness; sincere; outspoken.

Be even and direct with me. --Shak.

3. Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.

He nowhere, that I know, says it in direct words. --Locke.

A direct and avowed interference with elections. --Hallam.

4. In the line of descent; not collateral; as, a descendant in the direct line.

5. (Astron.) In the direction of the general planetary motion, or from west to east; in the order of the signs; not retrograde; -- said of the motion of a celestial body.

Direct action. (Mach.) See Direct-acting.

Direct discourse (Gram.), the language of any one quoted without change in its form; as, he said "I can not come;" -- correlative to indirect discourse, in which there is change of form; as, he said that he could not come. They are often called respectively by their Latin names, oratio directa, and oratio obliqua.

Direct evidence (Law), evidence which is positive or not inferential; -- opposed to circumstantial, or indirect, evidence. -- This distinction, however, is merely formal, since there is no direct evidence that is not circumstantial, or dependent on circumstances for its credibility. --Wharton.

Direct examination (Law), the first examination of a witness in the orderly course, upon the merits. --Abbott.

Direct fire (Mil.), fire, the direction of which is perpendicular to the line of troops or to the parapet aimed at.

Direct process (Metal.), one which yields metal in working condition by a single process from the ore. --Knight.

Direct tax, a tax assessed directly on lands, etc., and polls, distinguished from taxes on merchandise, or customs, and from excise.

Direct

Di*rect"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Directed; p. pr. & vb. n. Directing.]

1. To arrange in a direct or straight line, as against a mark, or towards a goal; to point; to aim; as, to direct an arrow or a piece of ordnance.

2. To point out or show to (any one), as the direct or right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way; as, he directed me to the left-hand road.

The Lord direct your into the love of God. --2 Thess. iii. 5.

The next points to which I will direct your attention. --Lubbock.

3. To determine the direction or course of; to cause to go on in a particular manner; to order in the way to a certain end; to regulate; to govern; as, to direct the affairs of a nation or the movements of an army.

I will direct their work in truth. --Is. lxi. 8.

4. To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order; as, he directed them to go.

I 'll first direct my men what they shall do. --Shak.

5. To put a direction or address upon; to mark with the name and residence of the person to whom anything is sent; to superscribe; as, to direct a letter.

Syn: To guide; lead; conduct; dispose; manage; regulate; order; instruct; command.

Direct

Di*rect"\, v. i. To give direction; to point out a course; to act as guide.

Wisdom is profitable to direct. --Eccl. x. 10.

Direct

Di*rect"\, n. (Mus.) A character, thus [?], placed at the end of a staff on the line or space of the first note of the next staff, to apprise the performer of its situation. --Moore (Encyc. of Music).

Direct

Di*rect"\, a. (Political Science) Pertaining to, or effected immediately by, action of the people through their votes instead of through one or more representatives or delegates; as, direct nomination, direct legislation.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : direct
Spanish: directo,
German: direkt,
Japanese: まっすぐな
More Translations »

direct 
c.1374, from L. directus "straight," pp. of dirigere "set straight," from dis- "apart" + regere "to guide" (see regal). The adj. is from c.1391. Director of films, plays, etc., is from 1911. Directory "alphabetical listing of inhabitants of a region" is from 1732.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: di·rect
Function: transitive verb
1 : to order with authority directed that the car go to his niece>
2 : to order entry of (a verdict) without jury consideration directed a verdict in favor of the defendant>
3 : to act as director of intransitive verb : to act as director

Main Entry: direct
Function: adjective
1 a : stemming immediately from a source <direct costs> direct claim> —compare DERIVATIVE b : being or passing in a straight line from parent to offspring : LINEAL direct ancestor> —compare COLLATERAL
2 : marked by absence of any intervening agency, instrumentality, or influence <direct consequences>
3 : effected by the action of the people or the electorate and not by representatives <direct democracy>
4 : characterized by close logical, causal, or consequential relationship direct interest in the outcome of the litigation> —di·rect·ly adverb

Main Entry: direct
Function: noun
: DIRECT EXAMINATION direct>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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